Left to right: Tony Cardillo (PPB Travel Team director) accepting the bronze traveling plaque from Tom Keller (GVR Travel Team coordinator)
Joseph F. Giammarino
Pool Players of the Brooke (PPB) would like to thank Green Valley Recreation (GVR) Billiards Club and Tom Keller, Travel Team coordinator, for their pool table prowess, camaraderie, friendly competition, and a nice luncheon after the match at SaddleBrooke One’s newly renovated RoadRunner Grill. Another thank you goes out to Tony Cardillo, PPB Travel Team director, for organizing this event. On Feb. 10 the GVR Travel Team ventured up to SaddleBrooke for an 8-Ball Team Challenge against the PPB. We were competing for temporary ownership of a traveling bronze plaque, which has been in PPB’s possession since Dec. 11, 2022. Our team was made up of four two-player teams, and Green Valley also had four two-player teams. Our teams consisted of Joe “Ball Breaker” Vidmar and Fred “The Baker” Dianda, Tony “The Snake” Cardillo and Joe “Fast Eddie” Giammarino, Gary “One Rail” Barlow and Dominic “The Doctor” Borland, and Lowell “8-Ball” Hegg and Phelps “Montana” L’Hommedieu.
The format was simple and interesting. Each of our teams would play each of their teams three games of 8-ball, with each game won being one point for the winning team. There were a total of 48 points in the match. The first round was a 6-6 tie. The second round was also an even split at 6-6. After the second round, the match was tied at 12-12. In the third round we finally saw the PPB pull ahead with an 8-4 round in favor of the PPB. After the third round, the PPB was ahead by a 20-16 score. PPB would need to win at least four games in the final round to mount the traveling bronze plaque back up on the wall in the CRC Billiards Room. PPB did better than that by winning the final round by a 9-3 score. So, with the final score being PPB 29 and GVR 19, PPB takes the traveling bronze plaque and puts it back on the wall in the CRC. Congrats to the Pool Players of the Brooke Billiards Club!
This event was a continuation of a friendly but fierce rivalry. SaddleBrooke is proud of their team, and they thank GVR for venturing up to SaddleBrooke.